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The Republican-controlled House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations has rebuked former MF Global chairman and chief executive Jon S. Corzine for making what it says were poor decisions that led to the brokerage’s bankruptcy filing last year, but stopped short of saying anyone at the futures firm broke the law.

Delivering a three-page news release on Wednesday ahead of a longer report expected on Thursday, the panel said that its probe concluded that the circumstances that led to a misappropriation of customer funds worth an estimated $1.6bn from the company were Corzine's responsibility. However, it would be up to regulators and prosecutors to determine whether the former Democratic senator and New Jersey governor or other employees violated any laws, the investigative subcommittee noted.

By expanding MF Global into “new business lines without first returning its core commodities business to profitability”, Corzine ensured that the brokerage would face “enormous resource demands and exposed it to new risks that it was ill-equipped to handle", the document released stated.

The panel also alleged that Corzine "effectively sidelined" the firm's chief risk officer by making him report to the chief operating officer instead of to him, after the latter raised concerns that the European bond bet favoured by Corzine had grown too large.